Nordic Metal - A Tribute To Euronymous (1996)

The concept for the Nordic Metal compilation was first brought to mind back in 1992 by Euronymous of Mayhem and Paul 'Typhon' Thind, the founder of Necropolis Records. The idea was to release an elite compilation of Nordic black/death metal bands to spread the word over in America and even possibly get Mayhem and other bands to the states to play some shows. Unfortunately, as you may know, Euronymous was murdered in the Summer of '93 and this compilation was eventually shelved. A few years later folks started asking what happened to the comp. and eventually in 1996 it was released as not only a fitting document of the early black/death metal scene in Norway & Sweden but also as a final tribute to Euronymous.

The compilation features fifteen songs from eleven different bands, namely; Abruptum, Mayhem, Dissection, Emperor, Mysticum, Marduk, Thorns, Ophthalamia, Enslaved, Arcturus and Mortiis. Within the booklet there's old photos, information on each band as well as many comments and detailed memories of Euronymous and the scene back in these early days from key members of the scene. However it's the music that is most important and on this particular compilation you'll surely find plenty of classic songs.

One of the true highlights of the comp. come from Abruptum who open the album with their song, 'De Profundis Mors Vas Consumet,' which is a bizarre, dark and completely twisted sounding piece of black metal that still to this day sounds very original. Mayhem are featured with two songs; one being an old rehearsal from '89 with Dead on vocals and the other being a rehearsal from '95 when the band was reformed with Maniac as the lead vocalist. Both are of outstanding quality of course too. Dissection makes an appearance twice with their songs, 'Where Dead Angels Lie' & 'Elizabeth Bathori,' both of which would later resurface on an EP in that same year. The two Emperor songs are of the most supreme quality, even if they are old and very raw rehearsals, while the two Mysticum songs are industrial black metal at it's finest that's still unmatched to this day.

The Marduk song, 'Untrodden Paths (Wolves Pt. II)' is taken from their, 'Opus Nocturne' album, which is arguably their finest hour, Whilst the Thorns rehearsal song, 'Ærie Descent' shows that even in the early 90's some bands were not afraid to make experimental and weird black metal sometimes. The Ophthalamia cover version of Mayhem's, 'Deathcrush' has always stood out as being stunning to me and actually far better than the original while Enslaved's song, 'Loke' from their album, 'Frost' is a most intense viking/black metal song, which I've enjoyed for many years now. The early Arcturus song, 'Rodt og Svart' has always given me this sleepy weird feeling, but it's an interesting experience nonetheless and the, 'Unreleased Outro' from Mortiis is very, very similar to his work on his debut, but again it's quite enjoyable.

When I bought this compilation ten years ago it was a blue print of sorts as it introduced me to new bands like Mysticum, Thorns and Opathalamia and of course provoked me to instantly get my hands on their albums as well as finding all the other releases from the bands on this comp. that I had not found just yet. If you're new to black metal or are just curious about the early scene then this is indeed a fine comp. to pick up and since it's been re-released numerous times I don't suppose it's hard to track down either. Be it for the music or for the interesting quote and stories within, 'Nordic Metal - A Tribute To Euronymous' is definitely worth getting your hands on.